The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-10-15


 cashmerean shawl. Behind the king come his sons and mounted minister or two, and few of the more favored of his gayly dressed courtiers; then appear his three regiments of Cos sacks, his majesty's iavorite toy. They are we'll mounted, we'll armed, and we'll dressed in the Russian manner. Then come three or four guns of the horse artillery, and then a couple ot regiments of infantry; and after the soldiers appear the rest of the male population of Teheran-many thou sands of them-who have accompa- nied the procession from the town.
 On the course itself may be seen most of the competitors. They are all Turkoman horses, animals which combine a very large stride with a fair turn of speed and extraordinary powers of endurance; they resemble rather leggy English hunters, and stand from fifteen to seventeen hands and a half What little mane they ever had has been carefully removed, and they have long, slender, rat-like tails. Though the weather is hot, they are mostly clothed with gay cov- erings of embroidered cloth. There is not an ounce of fat on them; for they have all undergone severe and very peculiar training. None of these ami mals have been allowed to lie down for the period of two months; their grain has been cut down to very low limit, and, at the last, water has been almost denied them, but they are allowed to eat watermelons; they have been kept at rapid walk for from ten to fifteen hours every day, and even their allowance of sleep has been vigorously curtailed.
 The following are the times of the winners of the races round the course of the 20th of April last year: First race, six times, 12 miles, 27 minutes 32 seconds; second race, five times, 10 miles, 22 minutes seconds third race, four times, miles, 17 minutes IS seconds: fourth race, three times, 6 miles, 13 minutes l2 seconds; fifth race, twice (time of this last race not
 
 the horses went once round the course but had to begin again). The actual times of the ten-m mile race were: First round, two miles, minutes 25 sec onds; second round, two miles, 1 min utes 35 seconds; third round, two miles, minutes 45 seconds; fourth round, two miles, 5 minutes l5 sec onds; fifth round, two miles, min utes ' seconds. Total, ten miles in p minutes seconds. Not bad going this, even for Persia, for the boys rode at least seven stone. The jockeys are always boys; they are dressed in jack cts of bright chintz tucked into big, baggy riding brooches; they wear boots but use no spurs, the corner of the sharp spade-li Persian stirrup answering the purpose. On their heads is little round hat of white felt, which is tightly bound with q gay handkerchief of silk. Each boy carries a heavy whip, with a short handle and lash some five feet long, which he uses freely in the home struggle. The horses are generally the property of the king, his sons or some of the great personages of the kingdom. In the old times the royal horses always won; for should an- other animal dare to head them, he was always driven back by the kings servants or the soldiery. But since the shah's visit to Europe he has learned to appreciate a fair field and no favor; and the Teheral race- course is nowadays the scene of many game and determined struggle.
 A couple of years ago rather TO- mantle incident occurred. The horses were about to start for the eight-mile race, when ragged Turkoman begged the king's permission that he too might compete. The shah acceded to his petition with smile of amuse- ment. The Turkoman took his place with the rest, raced away from them first and reached the winning post at the fourth round in sixteen minutes, beating the pick of the racing stables of Persia by two miles. He then made a present of the horse to the king, who immediately rewarded him with a donation of thrice its value.
 After the fifth race the king re- views his troops. The commander-in- chief takes his place at the saluting point and march-past of the ten thousand men on the ground, with their bands at their heads playing vigorously, takes place. Then the sovereign, his wives and the populace of Teheran return quietly to their homes. There has been no row, no drunkenness, no disorder, and the po- lice go back empty handed. The stakes competed for are usually sum of forty pounds sterling for each race, which is given by the king. There are no allowances for age, no weigh ing-in and weighing out, and the competitors are all entire horses.